UV filters in sunscreen products - a survey

The contents of 18 permitted chemical UV filters in 75 sunscreen products have been determined to check the compliance of these products with the EU Cosmetic Directive, as well as to generate data for quantitative exposure assessments. 81% of the products were found to contain 14 of the target chemical UV filters. The remaining products contained only the physical UV-filters titanium oxide and zinc oxide, which were not determined in the present study. Maximum content (29.3%) of chemical UV filters was found in a product that contained 6 of the target UV filters. Octyl methoxycinnamate (1.4-4.7%) and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (0.4-4.8%) were the most frequently used UV filters, present, respectively, in 49% and 44% of the investigated products. Correlation between declared sun protection factor (SPF) and the contents of chemical UV filters in the respective products was not significant (correlation coefficient 0.5362). The content of UV filters in all products complied with the maximum allowed concentration of these according to EU Cosmetic Directive.